Semiconductor devices are widely used in various types of electronic products, consumer products, portable equipment, integrated circuit cards, and the like. One feature of semiconductor devices which is important in many of these applications is the thickness of a semiconductor device. It is desirable to keep the profile of the device as thin as possible in certain applications and/or products where a slim and lightweight design is preferable.
In addition to establishing a thin profile semiconductor device, manufacturers are also driven to maintain a low manufacturing cost. A significant material cost in manufacturing a semiconductor device other than the semiconductor die is the leadframe. The cost of a leadframe can be reduced significantly if the production level is high enough such that the leadframe can be stamped instead of etched.
Tape automated bonding (TAB) can be used to manufacture thin profile semiconductor devices. However, TAB is complex assembly process as compared to traditional plastic assembly of semiconductor devices using conventional processing equipment and methods. Furthermore, TAB tape, which is composed of patterned metal on polymer tape such as copper on polyimide, is costly because the metal pattern has to be etched. Additionally, in order to electrically connect a semiconductor die to the metallized TAB tape, either the die or the tape has to be gold bumped which is more costly and more complex than conventional wire bonding. A need exists for an easily manufacturable thin profile semiconductor device which is cost effective.